Preview: Typoman

With a name like Typoman, what type of game could this be? An educational adventure for kids teaching them about spelling? A beat 'em up where you play as a hero who attacks grammatically incorrect bad guys? Try a Wii U exclusive platformer where you use words to solve puzzles. Didn't see that one coming did you?

Coming from the creative minds at Brainseed Factory and being published by Headsup Games, Typoman delivers an experience unlike any other. You play as HERO, whose body is actually comprised of the letters H,E,R and O in his quest to reclaim his missing arm and defeat the Giant, Evil Demon who rules over the land HERO is trapped in.Nintendo fans might be visualizing something akin to Scribblenauts, but the experience is entirely different. In Scribblenauts, you can create anything you can imagine, whereas in Typoman, you find the letters to spell out the solution to your puzzles. Still confused? Allow us to type out some examples.

For instance, when the protagonist reached a wall and the only way to progress was by going up. There was a PLATFORM, but it was stuck on the ground. HERO found the letters ON, which sprung the PLATFORM to life. Another good example is when the ink based hero reached an area with rain. Only one part of the level featured rain, and it was blocking HERO's path. By attaching a D to RAIN, the rain let up, and drained the pool of water. This transition was only for a brief period of time however, as the D fell of of DRAIN, and the environment quickly drizzled again.

Not all puzzles require letters, but they do require basic reading skills. At one point in the demo shown off at E3, HERO encountered death traps that would squish him if he was under one while they fell. When they fell, they carried the letter C with them, and spelled out CRUSH. However, when the C rose, the message became RUSH, a hint that it was safe to pass. Just because the game tells you to go however, doesn't mean it is always safe. Another ingenious part of the demo showed HERO walking over to the letters PART. When HERO came a little too close, the letters suddenly sprang backwards, killing HERO with a TRAP. By dragging an S over, Hero was able to successfully STRAP the TRAP down and progress.

One flaw that could hold this idea back is the lack of more than one solution per puzzle. Thankfully Brainseed realized this and several answers can be accepted in. Back to the Crush example, there is one deathtrap going faster than all of the rest. By getting the letters WAIT, the speed will slow down. However, STOP, SLOW, HALT will all work too.

Typoman is host to a truly stunning artstyle. The dark and grim set the game's tone of being in this dark land perfectly while looking amazing same time. Not only is Typoman host to beautiful graphics, it is also the recipient of five awards before release. Three are Game Connection Developer Awards for Best New IP, Casual Game and Best Console Game Nominee. Typoman also impressed the folks at Quo Vadis by winning the Best of Quo Vadis 2015 award, at Game Check's Best of E3 2015 Art Style Award.

Typoman should be available for release within the next few months. Are you interested in this puzzle platformer? Type out your response in the comments below.